Autoblog

Only days before heading to bankruptcy court, Italian engineering firm and carrozzeria Bertone revealed that it was about to pull a last-minute trick out of its sleeve in an announcement later that day. But when the announcement didn't come, the industry was left wondering if, after 95 years in business, Bertone was about to slip away.

The company's chairwoman and family scion Lili Bertone, however, announced last night that her company would be sold to Gruppo Prototipo chief Domenico Reviglio. Likewise based in Turin, Gruppo Prototipo focuses on testing pre-production vehicle prototypes. It owns the famous Nardo high-speed test facility, and since the late '90s has been the sub-contractor for most of the Fiat Group's testing requirements.

The announcement came as a surprise to the Italian business community, which widely believed negotiations with business mogul Gianmario Rossignolo were near conclusion. Previous negotiations with Fiat had fallen through, and Bertone has a workforce of 1,300 to support despite the lack of contracts to sustain the company. The Italian government, meanwhile, has opted to extend the two-year financial protection it had granted Bertone for an additional two months.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

Industry analysts widely agree that one of the principal factors preventing Chinese automakers from succeeding outside of China is the local industry's fragmentation, with over 100 automakers vying for their slice of the proverbial pie. However, a merger announced Wednesday between two major Chinese automakers, Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp (SAIC) and Nanjing Automotive Group, stands a stronger chance of succeeding in the international car market as a larger group.

The merger, which has been long anticipated, involves SAIC paying $285.7 million for Nanjing. In return, Nanjing's parent company acquires 4.9 percent of SAIC Motor Corp.

The products of SAIC's joint ventures with GM and Volkswagen Group account for 14% of the domestic market in China, selling 1.25 million vehicles in the first ten months of 2007. Nanjing, meanwhile, sold less than 80,000 over the same period, making the acquisition a merger in the same sense as Mercedes had "merged" with Chrysler. Nanjing, however, owns MG Rover, whose plants in England SAIC hopes to use as a foothold into the European market.

[Source: Automotive News – subscription required]

The latest in Porsche-Volkswagen relations is that the sports car maker has contingencies in place to raise its stake in the VW Group, but at this point is not planning an outright takeover.

As you may recall, when Porsche recently increased its ownership in Volkswagen AG, it was bound by German law to make an offer to purchase controlling interest. The offer Porsche submitted to Volkswagen shareholders was purposely low because Porsche didn't want to fully take over Volkswagen.

That law is now on the verge of being repealed, leaving the door open for Porsche to further increase its stake, but that doesn't mean that it will automatically take the opportunity to further entrench the anschluss between the two companies founded by Ferdinand Porsche. If, however, Porsche's position on the Volkswagen board is threatened, it could increase its stake up to 50-percent without any further bureaucracy and legal issues, but for now it plans on staying where it is.

[Source: Reuters]

The Fiat group seems to be on a ceaseless campaign to bring its products to the U.S. market. A range of products from Alfa Romeo are in the pipeline for importation, the upcoming high-performance Abarth version of the new Fiat 500 has been tipped to make the trans-Atlantic voyage, and now Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has announced plans to bring the group's heavy truck subsidiary Iveco to the American market. But while the 500 and Alfas may take a while to make the trip, Marchionne has a much tighter time-frame in mind for Iveco, declaring that they company "will have something done within six to nine months." That's mighty soon.

Iveco, short for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, builds close to half a million diesel engines and some 200,000 commercial vehicles every year, including heavy trucks, military vehicles, fire engines, buses, vans and even a formula racing truck that makes NASCAR Craftsman Series trucks look like toys.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Between its numerous brands and divisions, the Fiat Group has, over the years, sent a lot of work the way of Pininfarina. As if the repeat business weren't enough, another indication of the Italian auto conglomorate's evident satisfaction with the design house's work is their most recent hire: Lorenzo Ramaciotti.

In various capacities at Pininfarina, Ramaciotti has been responsible for some 20 concept cars and dozens more production cars that have included some of Italy's most beautiful designs, as well as some of the more controversial. Included in his portfolio are the Maserati Quattroporte and Ferrari's 550 Maranello, 360 Modena, F430, 612 Scaglietti and Enzo. Having joined Pininfarina straight out of engineering school at Turin Polytechnic, he made his way up through the hierarchy to general manager, board member and finally to chief executive.

In his new position with the Fiat Group, Ramaciotti will be in charge of all designs for future products from Fiat's various divisions, most notably Maserati and several upcoming Alfa Romeos. He'll be reporting directly to group boss Sergio Marchionne, and we'll be keenly watching to see the fruits of his labors.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: Fiat Group]

Having unique character might be good for enthusiasts, but it's not so good for the bottom line, and Martin Winterkorn is more concerned about the latter. That's why the CEO of Volkswagen AG is planning on remaking its struggling Seat brand in a new mold.

Although not offered in the North American market, overseas buyers know Seat by the "auto emocion" moniker, positioning the Spanish carmaker as the group's sportier subsidiary offering more aggressive-looking models compared to the more traditional images of the Volkswagen and Skoda divisions (Hmm, sounds like the European version of Pontiac). Unfortunately, that strategy hasn't seemed to pay off for Seat, and to keep it in the black, Winterkorn is ordering a change of strategy that involves appealing to a wider customer base and cutting ten percent of its workforce.

We can't help but wonder what Seat will have to offer if it's brand image is tossed aside. But treading on each other's turf seems to be the strategy du jour at Volkswagen group, where VWs go upmarket to compete with Audis and the corporate structure includes three ultra-premium brands. Whether Winterkorn's strategy pays off remains to be seen.

[Source: Just-Auto]

Thomas Bscher wanted to see the Bugatti range expand. He had taken charge of the über-premium brand during the tenure of Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, the former head of the Volkswagen Group. But when Pischetsrieder was replaced by Audi chief Dr. Martin Winterkorn, plans changed.

Evidently failing to realize his goals of broadening the Bugatti range beyond the Veyron, Bscher opted to resign from his post. Taking his place will be a fellow brand manager from VW's de facto premium auto group, Franz-Josef Paefgen, who will reportedly take on the management of Bugatti in addition to Bentley, the Volkswagen subsidiary over which he currently presides. Whether this will be an interim role or a more permanent arrangement remains to be seen, but with the same man controlling both brands, Bugatti isn't prone to pose a threat to Bentley's stature at the top of the corporate luxury hierarchy.

This management shift pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin of any future Bugatti model, whatever shape it might have taken. Porsche AG, a major shareholder in the VW Group that had voiced its opposition to any expansion of the Bugatti brand, just might get its wish.

[Source: Der Spiegel (tr.) via German Car Scene]

Audi seems to have grown particularly fond of Alfa Romeo's styling, and as a result they have been poaching the Italian marque's designers. The first to make the move northwards was Walter de' Silva, and now, Wolfgang Egger is following suit.

Egger is leaving Alfa Romeo to become the new head of Audi's Style Center, the job formerly held by his old boss Walter de Silva, who moves up to Head of Volkswagen Group Design.

During his tenure at Alfa Romeo, Egger was responsible for some beautiful creations, most notably the drop-dead gorgeous 8C Competizione and the Nuvola concept car from the 1997 Paris show. He had a large hand in designing the head-turning 159 sedan and wagon, Brera and Spyder and he contributed to the upcoming 149, 169 and Junior projects. In bouncing back and forth between various design posts in the Volkswagen and Fiat empires, he also worked on Seat and Lancia designs. While together at Alfa Romeo, Egger and de Silva worked together in penning the current 156, 166 and 147 models.

Alfa Romeo's loss is Audi's gain. It'll be interesting to follow how the shifts will impact the designs of future models at both companies.

[Source: Italiaspeed]